The oral presentation

So this time last week I did the final part of module 3- the oral presentation. I really enjoyed this experience as it was nice to finally be able to talk to a group of people about my inquiry and all that I had discovered and achieved. I thought it might be beneficial for anyone that has this part of the module to come to read my reflections on the experience.

* Make a clear, nice visual powerpoint, the fewer words the better!
I found that the powerpoints that weren't hugely descriptive and were used to bullet point the essence of the presentation were clearer than ones that had endless paragraphs. It was a struggle to read long quotes or sections from the inquiry. I also thought that pictures and photographs were also very effective where appropriate as it added an extra dimension and something else to look at.

* Stick to the 10 minute guidance time!
This was something a lot of people struggled with. With so much to say it's really hard to cram it all into 10 minutes. I think we were all surprised at just how short 10 minutes is! However, while I genuinely enjoyed listening to every individuals presentation, once it went over 12 minutes it was very difficult to not start clock watching. Shorter is better as it engages the audience for just the right amount of time.
I took my phone up with me so that the pressure of the stopwatch helped me. Mine was 10.31.

* Practice your presentation before hand!
About 3 days before the presentation I practiced and it came in at 23 minutes! I panicked! However, through a strict method of cutting and practicing I was able to edit my presentation down to the absolute essential points. I believe brought a clarity to my work and gave me more confidence in delivering it. I then pretended I was a final candidate in The Apprentice where you have to present your final business plan! This actually really helped to completely ingrain the presentation into my mind, but also meant I was well rehearsed and not as nervous for the real thing.
I also wrote down bullet points that I could follow during the presentation to help me stay on track.

* If you're struggling with how to structure your powerpoint then look in the handbook
In the final handbook of this course it gives you a suggested structure for your oral presentation. It is as follows:

Introduction

Methods of research

Evaluation of findings

Critical Review

Not everyone stuck to this structure and I don't think it mattered. I really enjoyed the variety of presentations and it was great to see different ways of talking about the various inquiries. However, myself and a few others in the room used this structure and for me personally it really worked . It was nice to have a guide that kept me on target and hopefully made my presentation clear and easy to follow.

*Believe and enjoy what you are talking about!
The presentations that stick out in my mind a week on are the ones where there was a real passion behind what was being said. I think above all you should have total confidence in what you are talking about as that will translate over to the other people in the room.

Overall I really enjoyed that afternoon of presentations. Here is the link to my powerpoint presentation . Nothing special but it worked alright for me!

The Professional Artefact

Here is the youtube link to my Professional Artefact. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into this video and I can't express how relieved I am by the fact I can just upload the link!

Enjoy!

The end is fast approaching

So in 48 hours time I will have done my oral presentation and will have handed in all work needed for the final module of this course!

I can't quite believe how fast these last 15 months have gone. Looking back over the three modules it is incredible how much I have learnt and even more incredible how much of that learning has been subconscious.

The start of module one seemed like a minefield to me. I have never been very technical and the thought of pinning the majority of my degree on the computer and Web 2.0 seemed like a pretty silly idea. However, like all well thought out plans, this encouragement of using the computer more has benefited my knowledge and allowed me to learn skills that will enhance my career. Module one also sparked the interest into my chosen topic of research which has honestly been one of the most interesting academic projects I have created.

Module two allowed me to study my career from a completely different perspective. The physical demand being a choreographer puts on you means that I had little knowledge on the broader view of my career such as ethics and analysing my professional network. I found this module quite a struggle at the beginning as there was lots to take in for the first time and I had to do a lot of excess reading to fully get to grips with the themes and ideas. 

I was also very conscious that this learning was going to be the foundations of my professional inquiry and I wanted to give myself the best possible chance at making my inquiry the best it could be. The highlight of this module was writing my proposal. It took a long time to write and edit down but was highly rewarding to put together a well thought out plan that I was excited to carry out.

Module three seemed the shortest out of all the modules. I felt the gap between this module and the last was so small that there wasn't really anytime to breathe in between. In a way though I found this a good thing as it meant I kept up the momentum throughtout, particularly using the literature research to do it. However, I found the professional inquiry easier to put together than the professional artefact. I absolutely loved gathering the information to write the inquiry. Being able to interview professional choreographers as well as observe them was really interesting and the hours spent in the library researching and reading the literature was challenging but a good way to constantly keep me learning and focused. 

The professional artefact has been a challenge particularly from a technical point of view.  While I didn't find it hard to physically do the artefact, I found it incredibly challenging to use the computer software to compile a video and then send it over to be marked. I have tried to turn this experience into a positive by taking the opportunity to learn all about how to make videos and send them as I am aware how useful this skill could be in my career. The ability to be able to film choreography and then send it all over the world could increase my professional network, job opportunities and also be used to promote my work. 

But right now I need to focus on the oral presentation. Fingers crossed that it goes ok and that I do my inquiry justice. I have been working a lot on it but who knows what might come out of my mouth on the day! Wish me luck....